How to Start Your Own Business
...and Surround Yourself with Beautiful
Women...
...
and Then Give It All Up to Play with Computers...
by Don Edrington — Part 3 (Part 1) (Part 2)
Wanted to Live in the CountryWell, life in Orange County was good, but Elaine and I decided we would like to live "out in the country."
So in 1973 we bought a home and small avocado grove in Fallbrook. 
For the first five years, I stayed at the shop in Anaheim and went home on weekends. At first, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do this—but soon learned there were lots of guys spending their work-weeks in Orange County or Los Angeles and just going home on weekends.
But the best thing I ever did for the company was to hire my daughter-in-law, Alana Fugnetti. Alana quickly learned to take over the management of the business, meaning I could spend more time in Fallbrook and less time in Anaheim. For a year and a half I was a bilingual teacher's aide for the Fallbrook Elementary School District, where I worked with handicapped pre-schoolers. However, I had to give that job up when an elbow injury made it difficult for me to lift the children in and out of their wheelchairs and onto the diaper-changing table. Life-Changing EventThen in 1977 something happened that would change my work focus for the rest of my life—the first "personal computers" began to appear. I bought a TRS-80 Model 1 at the local Radio Shack. Later I applied there for a part-time job, and got a chance to learn more about the other computers they were selling. (Continued in Next Column) |
First Computer ColumnI also worked part-time for the Fallbrook Enterprise, where I learned how to use Macintosh computers. After a while I submitted an article about computers to the newspaper, and the reader response was such that they asked if I'd like to do a weekly column. Eventually, when the North County Times bought the Enterprise, I was asked to continue doing the column, and was subsequently asked to write two columns a week. Later on I got a job as a computer instructor at Fallbrook High School. This was a little tricky, since I had no high school diploma, nor could I find a copy of the GED certificate I had gotten in the army. Nonetheless, I was able to get a teaching certificate by supplying the San Diego County School District with a collection of testimonials from folks whom I had tutored over the past few years. After my wife passed away in 1999 I moved back to Orange County to be closer to other family members and to our screen printing business. I also met Mary Hanson, who was a computer enthusiast, and who began doing research that makes it easier for me to answer questions from readers.
Along the way I wrote a book called "Don't Be Afraid of Your PC!" After it sold out I didn't have more printed since Windows XP came along and the book would have needed a lot of updating. Maybe I'll complete another edition some day, but am too busy working on this Web site at the moment. Well, we eventually sold Banner Sign Company and I now spend full time working on this Web site, writing the columns, and helping others learn more about using their computers, while I continue to study and try to learn more about using mine.
Pre-Ordained at Age 9 to Become a Sign-Painter? |
